Brother Ali – One Of Us

Have you heard about the Albino Muslim emcee? Of course you have. At this point you’d be hard pressed to find any underground hip-hop fan who wasn’t aware of Brother Ali. On September 22nd he’ll be releasing his latest effort, Us, and this week I sat down with the Minnesota lyricist to get his thoughts on all things hip-hop, the unexpected ways in which he’s connected with his fans, and what he has in store for Us. In addition to all that, Brother Ali also opened up about the very personal master plan he came up with that’s totally changed his life. Here are some of the highlights from the interview:

On changing his life:
I made sure that my life and my art express what I believe in. I don’t think either one of them imitate each other. I have this picture in my mind of what life is supposed to be and I’m trying to get my art and my life to make that a reality.

On the lyrical content of Us:
All the stories on here are true, they’re just not my stories anymore. I wanted to give people a slice of life, a glimpse into the lives of working poor people.

On mainstream rap:
I think there’s a lot of value in the leaders of that music. Like Jay-Z, T.I., Kanye West, 50 Cent, there’s a lot of truth there and there’s a lot of important things being said there if you understand them in the context of society.

Check out the full interview at RapReviews.com.